DVD Review: Wrestling Road Diaries

Bob Bamber

May 10, 2011

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Wrestling Road Diaries – DVD Review

A break from my usual schtick , this is a DVD Review of Colt Cabana’s Wrestling Road Diaries. The DVD documents life on the road of independent wrestlers Colt Cabana (formerly of WWE fame as Scotty Goldman), Bryan Danielson (WWE’s Daniel Bryan) and Sal Rinauro over a ten day period towards the back end of 2009. The show includes Danielson’s final Ring Of Honor show before joining up with the WWE.

I thought this was an excellent DVD. I’ve heard a lot about independent wrestling, but it’s sporadic coverage means that it’s very difficult to paint a full picture. And when it does get coverage in the media (even if it’s just in the wrestling news media) it’s usually bad news.

This is the refreshing thing about Wrestling Road Diaries. There’s no façade, no game to play, no axe to grind. It’s an accurate true to life representation of life as an independent wrestler. It is just three guys, in a car, driving from event to event. They have plenty of fun along the way too, Colt and Sal have a water melon eating contest and there’s even a big dragon (and I’m not talking about Danielson!).

But as I said, it’s still accurate. Even two of the better know indy wrestlers Cabana and Danielson are still looking to cut costs where they can, jumping at the chance to get a free play to stay for the night, even if it is on the floor! You also get a great sense of the characters involved. The Daniel Bryan that you hear Michael Cole call a nerd and a dweeb on WWE TV plays out very true to life. They’re all easily amused, which helps the road dynamic a lot.

In the bonus disc DVD you get to see Colt repeatedly call Mark Briscoe and try and convince Brisco that it is in fact his trainer Van Hammer on the line. It was in the deleted scenes for a reason – that one definitely being more for their own fun than our benefit. But that’s what’s so great about the DVD as a whole, there’s nothing false here. Just a group of friends enjoying being pro wrestlers, and inviting us a long for the ride – quite literally.

We follow the trio through three Ring Of Honor TV tapings, two training seminars, and a handful of indy shows. It’s a sobering look at the world of an independent wrestler. Long road trips, sometimes only to play in front of crowds that barely top 100 people. You get the best of both perspectives, both what happens in front, and behind the curtain.

This isn’t like any other Wrestling Documentary I’ve seen. There is no axe to grind, nothing shocking to expose (well, other than possibly Danielson’s backside!), no game to play. Instead it’s just a funny, infectious and likeable look into the world of independent wrestling. I cannot recommend this DVD highly enough, and it’s bonus disc too!

You can find the DVD over at www.wrestlingroaddiaries.com it costs $25 with the bonus disc ($20 without) even living in the UK the DVD got to me in under eight days! All I can say is buy it! Colt says that if this one is successful, there is scope for future incarnations of the ‘Wrestling Road Diaries’ series. After this initial effort, I definitely want to see more!

If you want to read more of my work – some wrestling some not – then head over to my brand new website www.bambermedia.co.uk. If you want to tweet me about this article, then tweet @bobbybamber. And you can email me at bobbybamber@gmail.com